Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 44

* * * FEATURE STORY
Incentive
Hyperdrive
Pent up demand and a thirst
for luxury are factors in current
booking frenzy
By Gretchen Kelly
" Budgets are going up. Such a win-win. "
" We saw things really rebounding last year. "
" Everyone is looking for luxury accommodations in incentives. "
" Cruise incentives are returning in a big way. "
Experts on a September 6, 2022 Incentive Research Foundation webinar on
their recent Destination Preferences Survey were universally positive and all
pointed in the same direction. Incentive meetings are back in a big way. Luxury
accommodations are the first accommodation of choice. Pent-up demand is
surging. Cruise incentives are back and domestic, U.S. and border destinations
like Mexico, Canada and the Caribbean are booming.
Demand is
the Driver
" Everyone is looking for it [luxury], " said Anne Gorman,
vice president of sales and marketing for streamlinevents.
" A great incentive gives groups something they couldn't or
wouldn't be able to do on their own. " Gorman went on to
say that surveyed participants are asking for incentives to
give them " things we see on a regular vacation, " like spa
experiences, lots of leisure time and great meals.
" It's great to see the rebound of cruises, " said Rudy
Mall in London
busy with people
Garza, vice president of operations with Brightspot
Incentives and Events. Garza pointed out that the survey
showed a continued trend to European cruising along with
a 50% rebound for Caribbean cruise incentives.
A huge surge in demand for Hawaii had Stephanie
Harris, IRF president, advising planners even thinking
of Hawaii to " book fast " or face risking not being able to
book at all.
In a one-on-one conversation with Smart Meetings,
Harris says, " The incentive travel business continues to
increase in activity after a significant slowdown with 63%
of the industry anticipating significant growth. Nearly two44
OCTOBER
2022 * smartmeetings . com
thirds of the industry indicate incentive travel is trending
up for 2022 and beyond, with 13% saying incentive travel
will increase by 50% over the next 18 months. "
" The optimism is merited on the sheer volume of activity
we are seeing, " she says. " Motivating and retaining
employees is more important than it's ever been given
where we are right now. "
Harris' only reportable downside. " The cost analytic.
The price of everything is going up right now: airfares,
room rates and food and beverage. "
Harris' advice to planners is to " get creative " if you
don't get your first destination of choice. And to understand
that for participants, quality time spent relaxing
and generating wellness may be more important than the
destination itself.
" We are seeing more emphasis on holistic wellness...
being thoughtful about time and space in the agenda, not
over programming award winners but allowing downtime
and a more thoughtful, relaxed design of the program-
how can we focus on the total wellness of the attendee. "
Waiting for a plane
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue

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